Hydrocarbon well performance monitoring system

ABSTRACT

A system and method for real-time data acquisition and presentation of force, position, load, pressures, and movement within a subterranean well pumping system, such as an oil well. Data is gathered using sensors attached to a surface level pump drive and wellhead system. Well structural data and well production data are combined therewith to generate a real-time display of down-hole well operation, including animated graphics of the pump operation, including pump movement, rod and tubing stretch, fluid movement, gas compression, system forces, and fluid pressures. Liquid levels are tested using an acoustic liquid level instrument, and incorporated to improve well performance analysis.

RELATED APPLICATION

This is a Continuation application from U.S. application Ser. No.14/560,024 filed on Dec. 14, 2014, which is a Divisional applicationfrom U.S. application Ser. No. 13/334,385 filed on Dec. 22, 2011.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to monitoring the operation andperformance of sucker rod pumped wells. More particularly, the presentinvention relates to systems that employ dynamometers, acoustic levelmeasuring devices, and pressure sensors in conjunction with a computerto monitor in real-time, record, and display a wide range of informationabout various operational parameters in oil and gas wells that employ asucker rod pump.

Description of the Related Art

Most wells utilize a pumping system to extract oil, gas, and water fromsubterranean well boreholes. The pumping system typically comprises asurface mounted reciprocating drive unit coupled to a submerged pump bya long steel rod, referred to as a sucker-rod. The submerged pumpconsists of a chamber, plunger, and a pair of check valves arranged todraw fluids into the chamber and lift fluids to the surface on eachupstroke of the plunger. Since wells range in depths to many thousandfeet, the forces and pressures involved in the pumping operation aresubstantial. The costs of drilling, assembling, and servicing such wellsare also substantial. Costs are only offset by efficient production ofoil and gas products from the well. Thus, the careful attention given byoperators to efficient and reliable operation of sucker-rod pumped wellsover many decades of experience can be readily appreciated. Welloperators can directly access and monitor surface mounted well equipmentperformance. One technique is the use of a dynamometer that determinesthe position and forces on the sucker-rod at the surface level. Wellsemploy a wellhead assembly to seal the well fluids within a surfaceplumbing system. The reciprocating rod enters the wellhead assemblythrough a sliding seal, which requires that the rod be terminated at thesurface level by a polished portion, commonly referred to as a polishedrod. The surface dynamometer output has traditionally been a dynagraphthat provides a two dimensional plot of force versus position of thepolished rod, generally referred to as a “surface card”. However, manyof the critical pumping components are installed deep into the well'sborehole, referred to as “down-hole”, where direct monitoring is noteconomically practical. Since failure of a system component down-holecan have catastrophic implications both in terms of repair costs andlost production, well operators have long sought equipment andtechniques for assessing down-hole operation and performance.Experienced operators can, to a limited degree, extrapolate from trendsin surface card plots over time to infer potential problems occurringdown-hole, although this approach remains substantially subjective.

An important advancement in the area of down-hole performance analysiswas contributed by S. G. Gibbs when he deduced that down-hole forces andmovements could be accurately estimated based on structural informationabout the well equipment and surface forces and movement of the polishedrod. Essentially, Gibbs modeled the sucker rod as a transmission lineusing a viscous damped wave equation in the form of boundary conditionsto a set of differential equations. Gibbs' teachings were initiallypresented in U.S. Pat. No. 3,343,409 to Gibbs, issued Sep. 26, 1967, forMETHOD OF DETERMINING SUCKER ROD PUMP PERFORMANCE, which was directed toa process for determining the down-hole performance of a pumping oilwell by measuring data at the surface. The size, length and weight ofthe sucker rod string are determined and the load and displacement ofthe polished rod as a function of time are recorded. From that data itis possible to construct a load versus displacement curve for the suckerrod string at any selected depth in the well. Thus, Gibbs presents atechnique for generating a pump level dynagraph, referred to as a “pumpcard”, according to surface measurements.

Further advancements in equipment and techniques for gathering andprocessing surface data and generating down-hole data have beencontributed by McCoy et al., and are presented in a series of patents.The use of an accelerometer and strain gauge in a polished rodtransducer to implement a surface dynamometer have been taught. Theaccelerometer advancements are presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,482 toMcCoy et al., issued Apr. 11, 1995, for METHOD AND APPARATUS FORMEASURING PUMPING ROD POSITION AND OTHER ASPECTS OF A PUMPING SYSTEM BYUSE OF AN ACCELEROMETER, which teaches that an accelerometer is mountedon the pumping system unit to move in conjunction with the polished rod.An output signal from the accelerometer is digitized and provided to aportable computer. The computer processes the digitized accelerometersignal to integrate it to first produce a velocity data set and secondproduce a position data set. Operations are carried out to process thesignal and produce a position trace with stroke markers to indicatepositions of the rod during its cyclical operation.

The McCoy et al. advancements in the use of a strain gauge in a surfacedynamometer are presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,058 to McCoy et al,issued Nov. 7, 1995, for METHOD OF USING A POLISHED ROD TRANSDUCER,which teaches that a transducer is attached to the polished rod tomeasure deformation, i.e., the change in diameter or circumference ofthe rod to determine change in rod loading. The transducer includesstrain gauges, which produce output signals proportional to the changein the diameter or circumference of the rod, which occurs due to changesin load on the rod. The transducer may also include an accelerometer.The change in load on the polished rod over a pump cycle is used inconjunction with data produced by the accelerometer to calculate adown-hole pump card according to the teachings of in the prior art citedherein. The pump card showing change in pump load is adjusted to reflectabsolute rod load by determining an appropriate offset. Various ways todetermine the offset are available. Since the pump plunger load is zeroon the down stroke when the upper check valve, called the travelingvalve, is open, the value necessary to correct the calculated minimumpump value to a zero load condition may be used as the offset. Theoffset can also be estimated by either a calculation of the rod weight,a predetermined rod weight measurement or an estimated load value by theoperator.

A typical well is produced by drilling a borehole and installing a wellcasing. A tubing string is lowered into the well casing, and the wellfluids are pumped to the surface through the tubing string. Thus, thereexists an annular space between the casing and the tubing. The wellfluids are present in this space, and it is useful to know the liquidlevel of the well fluids to better understand well operations and toimprove accuracy of certain measurements and calculations. In thisregard, McCoy et al. have also provided further advancements in the artof measuring well casing and tubing liquid levels. These teachings arepresented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,399 to McCoy et al., issued May 26,1992, for DATA PROCESSING AND DISPLAY FOR ECHO SOUNDING DATA, which isdirected to an echo sounding system with a acoustic gun which is mountedto the wellhead of a borehole casing. The acoustic gun produces anacoustic pulse that is transmitted down the casing or tubing. Theacoustic pulse produces reflections when it strikes the tubing collarsand the surface of the fluid. A microphone detects the reflections toproduce a return signal. This signal is digitized and stored. Thedigitized signal is processed to detect the rate of the collarreflections, downhole markers and other structures in the well, and thestored signal is narrowband filtered with a pass band filter centered atthe rate of receipt of the collars. The data signal is further processedto determine the time of occurrence of the acoustic pulse and the liquidsurface reflection. Each cycle of the narrowband filtered signalcorresponds to one collar reflection. In this signal, each cycle iscounted, and extrapolation used when necessary to produce a collar countextending from the surface to the liquid surface. This is multiplied bythe average joint length to produce the depth to the liquid surface.

As will be appreciated upon review of the aforementioned prior art anddiscussion, the process of monitoring well performance involves a visitto the well site by a technician for the operator, connection of thetest sensors to the well's surface equipment, operation of the well,gathering data, reviewing prior production information, processing thedata, and then analyzing the results. This is a highly technicalprocess, and it requires a high degree of skill and knowledge to study asurface card, pump card, and liquid level data to develop a sense of thedown-hole function and the overall performance of the well and pumpingsystem. These efforts are essentially directed to determining how thewell is performing in terms of the volume of well fluids produced inview of the pumping system's capabilities, and also determining if thereare any performance irregularities developing that suggest a reliabilityissue or potential catastrophic failure event.

A discrepancy in the volume of fluids being produced is generallyidentified by a mismatch between the volume increase in the localstorage tank over time, and the theoretical displacement of the pumpbased on pumping speed, stroke length and plunger diameter, and otherphysical and performance factors. There can be a number of reasons forsuch a mismatch. The petroleum formation reservoir may be providinginsufficient liquid to fill the pump. Or, there may be a mechanicalfailure of the rod string, tubing string, a valve leakage, plungerslippage, inadequate design, improper pump system operation, and soforth. All of these factors can lead to a reduction in the volumetricefficiency of the pumping system. Further, since the well produces rawwell fluids that contain oil, gas, water and solid minerals, there maybe interference with expected operation of the pump. The pump inlet maybe clogged, the valves may be partially blocked or restricted inmovement. There may be excess gas in the pump chamber, creating agas-locked condition.

With regards to the question of performance irregularities and potentialfailure of the pumping system, this issue is always present in theoperator's mind and more prominently when the mean time between failuresfor a certain well has been less than expected. Although the toolsavailable to the operators for analysis of dynamometer records haveimproved over the decades, as was mentioned in the foregoing discussion,these tools generally still focus on providing numerical results thatthe operator must interpret to obtain the desired information.Furthermore, this type of subjective analysis requires significantexperience and is confusing and inaccurate as far as establishing howthe pump is actually operating and the cause of unusual results. A majordifficulty is created by the dynamic loads that are dependent on pumpingspeed and cause oscillations of the surface loads that are not directlycaused by pump operation.

It is noteworthy that the availability of battery powered laptopcomputers outfitted with integrated circuits for analog to digitalconversion and advanced analysis software has been instrumental inproviding the benefits of digital dynamometer analysis technology towell operators. McCoy et al. working in conjunction with Echometer Co.in Wichita Falls, Tex., provide such a system, referred to as Total WellManagement (“TWM”), which embodies much of the aforementioned prior artteachings. In the TWM system, acquired data consists of digitized loadand acceleration samples measured at the polished rod during an extendedperiod of time to ensure that the operation of the pump has stabilized.This data is expected to be representative of the normal operation ofthe pump. Processing of the surface data to generate the correspondingpump dynamometer cards is undertaken after acquisition of severalstrokes has been completed. The surface cards and pump cards can then bestudied to analyze system performance. Additional structural andperformance information may be presented together with the surface andpump dynagraphs.

FIG. 1 is a computer display output from the prior art Echometer TWManalysis software, and this figure shows the results of detailedcalculations for a specific pump stroke that gives an analysis of thepump operation and the loads experienced at the surface. Note that theinformation presented in FIG. 1 is not produced in real-time at the timethat the dynamometer measurements are taken. Rather, raw data is takenduring the test, and then is later processed to generate to output ofthe display in FIG. 1. Pump displacement in this example is computed at119.5 bbl/day based on the current pumping speed of 8.411 strokes perminute. The effective plunger stroke is 54.2 inches that corresponds to62.65% of the total plunger stroke of 86.5 inches. Since the surfacestroke is 100 inches there are 13.5 inches of stroke loss due to rod andtubing stretch. The shape of the pump dynagraph (bottom curve trace inFIG. 1) indicates that the pump barrel is filled with a mixture ofliquid and gas at an initial pressure of 130.1 psi. The gas iscompressed during the down stroke to a pressure that exceeds the pumpdischarge pressure at which point the traveling valve opens as indicatedby the vertical dashed line. The minimum pump load is calculated as anegative 470 lbs, which shows that the bottom rods are loaded incompression. The polished rod power is computed as 6.3 HP from the areaenclosed by the surface dynamometer card while the power expended at thepump equals 4.8 HP. The energy losses correspond to frictional forcesbetween rods and fluids and rods and tubing. Additional analysis of therod loading (not shown in this figure but presented in a detailedperformance report) indicates that the rod string is loaded to 52% ofthe allowable loading, the pumping unit beam is loaded to 50% of itscapacity and the gearbox is operating at 55% of maximum torque rating,and the prime mover is not overloaded.

Even though the prior art TWM system provides a substantial amount oftechnical information on well performance, it still requires a highdegree of experience to interpret and analyze the numerical andgraphical information in order to arrive at reasonable conclusions as towhether the pumping system is operating as intended and at the desiredrate in an efficient manner. It also provides an after-the-fact analysisof a previously run test operation before the data presented in FIG. 1can be presented to the user. Thus, is can be appreciated that there isa need in the art for a system and method for use in the sucker-rodpumped oil and gas well industry that further assists operators incalculating, analyzing, and outputting data while the sucker rod pump isin use, and providing a real-time representation of the facilityfunction both at surface level and down hole.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The need in the art is addressed by the methods of the presentinvention. The present invention teaches a method for real-time dataacquisition and generation of a position and force surface card for asubterranean well pumping system. This method provides for real-timeacquisition and presentation by a processor of performance data, whichis associated with a pump lifting well fluids from a subterranean wellto a surface level, the is pump reciprocated by a rod extending upwardto a cyclical drive unit at the surface level, and where the rodincludes a polished rod fixed thereto. The method consists ofsimultaneously obtaining, in real-time, a sequence of polished rodacceleration data samples and polished rod strain data samples, and thencalculating, in real-time, a sequence of polished rod position datapoints corresponding to the polished rod acceleration data samples, anda sequence of polished rod load data points corresponding to thepolished rod strain data samples. Then, delivering, in real-time, thesequence of polished rod position data points and the sequence ofpolished rod load data points, correspondingly, to a surface card dataoutput.

In a specific embodiment, the forgoing method further includes the stepsof displaying, in real-time, the sequence of polished rod position datapoints and the sequence of polished rod load data points, as a graphicalformat surface card. In a refinement to this embodiment, the methodfurther includes the step of displaying a cursor, in real-time, on thegraphical format surface card, indicating an instant corresponding pairof the sequence of polished rod position data points and the sequence ofpolished rod load data points.

In a specific embodiment, the forgoing method further includes the stepsof segregating the sequence of polished rod position data points and thesequence of polished rod load data points into discrete data setsaccording to individual strokes of the cyclical drive unit. In arefinement to this embodiment, the method further includes delimitingthe discrete data sets by identifying a position in a repetitive patternin the sequence of polished rod position data samples, and saving thedelimited discrete data sets in a memory according to individual strokesof the cyclical drive unit.

In a specific embodiment, the forgoing method further includes the stepsof storing in a machine readable file, the sequence of polished rodposition data points and the sequence of polished rod load data points.In a refinement to this embodiment, the method further includesrecalling the machine readable file, and reproducing the data pointsrecalled from the machine readable file in a graphical format.

The present invention also teaches a method for real-time generation ofa position and force pump card for a subterranean well pumping system.The method provides for real-time utilization of performance data by aprocessor, which is associated with a pump lifting well fluids above aliquid level in a casing of a subterranean well through a tube to asurface level, the pump has a chamber with a fluid inlet located belowthe liquid level that is gated by a stationary valve, and has a plungerslidably engaged with the chamber, the plunger has a fluid outlet gatedby a traveling valve that is coupled to deliver well fluids to the tube,the plunger is reciprocated to vary the displacement of the chamber by arod extending upward to a cyclical drive unit at the surface level. Thesteps of the method include obtaining, in real time, a sequence of rodposition data samples and rod load data samples corresponding tocyclical operation of the rod at the surface level, and calculating, inreal time, a sequence of plunger position data points and plunger loaddata points corresponding to cyclical operation of the rod at theplunger location, and calculated according to the rod surface positiondata samples, the rod surface load data samples, and on a set ofstructural data for the subterranean well. Then, delivering, inreal-time, the sequence of plunger position data points and the sequenceof plunger rod load data points, correspondingly, to a pump card dataoutput.

In a specific embodiment, the forgoing method further includes the stepsof displaying, in real-time, the sequence of plunger position datapoints and the sequence of plunger load data points in a graphicalformat pump card. In a refinement to this embodiment, the method furtherincludes displaying a cursor, in real-time, on the graphical format pumpcard, indicating an instant corresponding pair of the sequence ofplunger position data points and the sequence of plunger rod load datapoints.

In a specific embodiment, the forgoing method further includes the stepsof calculating a maximum plunger travel value from the sequence ofplunger position data points, and displaying a graphical representationof the maximum plunger travel value on the graphical format pump card.In another specific embodiment, the foregoing method further includesdisplaying a graphical representation of the pump including the chamberand the plunger, and animating the movement of the plunger according tothe plunger position data points. In a refinement to this embodiment,the method further includes calculating, in real-time, a sequence oftubing stretch data points for the tube at a level corresponding to thepump location, and calculated in accordance with the rod surfaceposition data samples, the rod surface load data samples, and the set ofstructural data for the subterranean well, and animating the movement ofthe chamber in real time according to the sequence of tubing stretchdata points.

In a specific embodiment, the forgoing method further includes the stepsof storing in a machine readable file, in real time, the sequence ofplunger position data points and the sequence of plunger rod load datapoints. In a refinement to this embodiment, the method further includesrecalling the machine readable file, and reproducing the data pointsrecalled from the machine readable file in a graphical format.

The present invention also teaches a method for real-time pump pressuresdetermination. This method provides for real-time utilization ofperformance data by a processor, which is associated with a pump liftingwell fluids of known physical properties above a liquid level in acasing of a subterranean well through a tube to a surface level, thepump has a chamber with a fluid inlet located below the liquid levelthat is gated by a stationary valve, and has a plunger slidably engagedwith the chamber, the plunger has a known area and a fluid outlet gatedby a traveling valve that is coupled to deliver well fluids to the tube,the plunger is reciprocated to vary the displacement of the chamber by arod extending upward to a cyclical drive unit at the surface. The methodincludes the steps of obtaining, in real time, a sequence of rodposition data samples and rod load data samples corresponding tocyclical operation of the rod at the surface level, and calculating, inreal time, a sequence of plunger position data points and plunger loaddata points corresponding to cyclical operation of the rod at theplunger level, and calculated in accordance with a set of structuraldata for the subterranean well. The method further includes determiningan inlet pressure at the fluid inlet to the pump, and determining adischarge pressure at the fluid outlet from the pump. The method furtherincludes calculating a sequence of pump chamber pressure data pointsaccording to the sequence of plunger load data points, and displaying,in real time, a portion of the sequence of plunger position data points,a portion of the sequence of plunger rod load data points, and a portionof the sequence of chamber pressure data points.

In a specific embodiment of the forgoing method, the determining aninlet pressure step further includes determining the liquid level in thecasing of the subterranean well, determining a density of liquid in thewell fluids from the known physical properties, and determining adensity of gas in the well fluids from the known physical properties.Then, calculating the inlet pressure based upon the density of liquid ina liquid column between the fluid inlet and the liquid level, and basedupon the density of gas in a gas column between the liquid level and thesurface level. In a refinement to this embodiment, the method furtherincludes determining a casing pressure at the surface level, andoffsetting the inlet pressure according to the casing pressure. In afurther refinement, the determining a casing pressure at the surfacelevel step is accomplished in real-time, simultaneous with thecalculating, in real-time, a sequence of pump chamber pressure datapoints according to the sequence of plunger load data points step.Furthermore, the determining the liquid level in the casing of thesubterranean well may be accomplished using an acoustic echomeasurement.

In a specific embodiment of the forgoing method, the determining adischarge pressure step further includes determining a density of wellfluids from the known physical properties, determining a pump dischargelevel from the known physical properties, and calculating the dischargepressure based upon the average fluid pressure gradient of the densityof liquid in a liquid column between the pump discharge level and thesurface level. In a refinement to this embodiment, the method furtherincludes determining a discharge pressure at the surface level, andadding the discharge pressure according to the tubing pressure. Inanother refinement, the determining a tubing pressure at the surfacelevel step is accomplished in real-time, simultaneous with thecalculating, in real-time, a sequence of pump chamber pressure datapoints according to the sequence of plunger load data points step.

In a specific embodiment of the forgoing method, the calculating, inreal-time, a sequence of pump chamber pressure data points step furtherincludes calculation of the sequence of pump chamber pressure datapoints according to the fluid discharge pressure less the correspondingof the plunger load data points divided by the plunger area.

In a specific embodiment, the forgoing method further includes the stepsof generating a graphical representation of the pump, including thechamber and the plunger, animating the movement of the plunger accordingto the plunger position data points, and displaying the pump chamberpressure values together with the animated movement of the pumpcomponents.

The present invention teaches a method of displaying performanceinformation that is associated with a pump lifting well fluids from asubterranean well through a tube, where the pump has a chamber with afluid inlet that is gated by a stationary valve and a plunger slidablyengaged with the chamber, where the plunger has a fluid outlet gated bya traveling valve that is coupled to deliver well fluids to the tube,and where the plunger reciprocated to vary the displacement of thechamber by a rod cyclically driven from a surface level. The methodincludes the steps of obtaining a sequence of rod position data samplesand rod load data samples corresponding to cyclical operation of the rodat the surface level, and calculating a sequence of plunger positiondata points and plunger load data points corresponding to thereciprocated movement of the rod at the plunger location. Then,calculating a sequence of chamber pressure data points that have aninverses relationship with the sequence of plunger load data points, anddisplaying the sequence of plunger position data points along a firstaxis of a graphical plot, and displaying the sequence of plunger loaddata points and the sequence of chamber pressure data points along asecond axis of a graphical plot, thereby producing a unified graphicalrepresentation of the plunger load, plunger position, and chamberpressure of the pump during reciprocated movement of the plunger.

In a specific embodiment, the foregoing method includes the furthersteps of establishing a plunger reference position in the sequence ofplunger position data points at a first extreme value of plungerposition in the reciprocated sequence, and indicating the plungerreference position along the first axis.

In a specific embodiment, the foregoing method includes the furthersteps of determining a discharge pressure at the fluid outlet from thepump, and generating a graphical representation of the dischargepressure on the unified graphical representation. In another specificembodiment, the foregoing method includes the further steps ofdetermining a pump inlet pressure at the pump inlet, and generating agraphical representation of the pump inlet pressure on the unifiedgraphical representation.

The present invention teaches a method of displaying performance dataassociated with a pump lifting well fluids from a subterranean wellthrough a tube, where the pump has a chamber with a fluid inlet that isgated by a stationary valve and a plunger slidably engaged with thechamber, where the plunger has a fluid outlet gated by a traveling valvethat is coupled to deliver well fluids to the tube, and wherein theplunger reciprocated to vary the displacement of the chamber by a rodcyclically driven from a surface level. The method includes the steps ofobtaining a sequence of rod position data samples and rod load datasamples corresponding to cyclical operation of the rod at the surfacelevel, and calculating a sequence of plunger position data points andplunger load data points corresponding to reciprocated movement of therod at the plunger location. Then, displaying a graphical plot of thesequence of plunger position data points along a first axis of thegraphical plot, and displaying the sequence of plunger load data pointsalong a second axis of the graphical plot, thereby producing a unifiedgraphical representation of the plunger load and plunger position duringreciprocated movement of the plunger. The method also includes the stepsof indicating a plunger position scale along the first axis, including alowest plunger position indicator, and displaying a graphicalrepresentation of the pump adjacent to the first axis of the graphicalplot, including the chamber with the stationary valve and the plungerwith the traveling valve, and orienting the position of the chamber withrespect to the lowest plunger position indicator, and animating themovement of the plunger according to the plunger position data points.

In a specific embodiment, the foregoing method includes the furthersteps of calculating a sequence of tubing stretch data points for thetube at a level corresponding to the pump location, and animating themovement of the chamber with respect to the lowest plunger positionindicator according to the tubing stretch data points. In a refinementto this embodiment, the method further includes incorporating a tubingposition scales along the graphical representation of the pump that isdrawn to the same scale as the plunger position scale.

The present invention also teaches a method for determining when pumpvalve actuation events occur. This method provides for real-timeutilization of performance data by a processor, which is associated witha pump lifting well fluids above a liquid level in a casing of asubterranean well through a tube to a surface level, the pump has achamber with a fluid inlet that is gated by a stationary valve, and hasa plunger slidably engaged with the chamber, the plunger has a fluidoutlet gated by a traveling valve that is coupled to deliver well fluidsto the tube, the plunger is reciprocated to vary the displacement of thechamber by a rod extending upward to a cyclical drive unit at thesurface. The steps of the method include obtaining, in real time, asequence of rod position data samples and rod load data samplescorresponding to cyclical operation of the rod at the surface level,and, calculating, in real time, a sequence of plunger position datapoints and plunger load data points corresponding to cyclical operationof the rod at the plunger level. The method further includes determiningan inlet pressure at the fluid inlet to the pump, determining adischarge pressure at the fluid outlet from the pump, and calculating,in real-time, a sequence of pump chamber pressure data points accordingto the sequence of plunger load data points. The method further includescalculating, in real-time, stationary valve actuation events accordingto an inlet differential pressure between the pump inlet pressure andthe chamber pressure, and calculating, in real-time, traveling valveactuation events according to an outlet differential pressure betweenthe pump outlet pressure and the chamber pressure. The method furtherdelivers, in real-time, the stationary valve actuation events and thetraveling valve actuation events to a valve actuation data output.

In a specific embodiment of the forgoing method, the stationary valveactuation events include stationary valve opening events and stationaryvalve closing events, and, the traveling valve actuation events includetraveling valve opening events and traveling valve closing events. Inanother specific embodiment, the method further includes conducting thecalculating stationary valve actuation events and the calculatingtraveling valve actuation events steps in a manner so as to distinguishwhen a valve test is performed without interrupting the obtaining asequence of rod position data samples and rod load data samples, and thecalculating a sequence of plunger position data points and plunger loaddata points processes.

In a specific embodiment, the forgoing method further includes the stepsof displaying, in real-time, a graphical representation of the sequenceof rod position data samples and the sequence of rod load data sampleson a graphical format surface card, and displaying indicators, inreal-time, of the a stationary valve actuation events and the travelingvalve actuation events on the graphical format surface card.

In a specific embodiment, the forgoing method further includes the stepsof displaying, in real-time, a graphical representation of the sequenceof plunger position data points and the sequence of plunger load datapoints on a graphical format pump card, and displaying indicators, inreal-time, of the a stationary valve actuation events and the travelingvalve actuation events on the graphical format pump card.

In a specific embodiment, the forgoing method further includes the stepsof generating a graphical representation of the pump including thechamber and the plunger, animating the movement of the plunger accordingto the plunger position data points. The method further includesgenerating a graphical representation of the stationary valve and thetraveling valve on the graphical representation of the pump, andanimating movement of the stationary valve and the traveling valveaccording to the a stationary valve actuation events and the travelingvalve actuation events.

The present invention also teaches a method of determining the liquidand gas ratios in the pumping process. This method provides forreal-time utilization of performance data by a processor, which isassociated with a pump lifting well fluids of known physical properties,including gas and liquid, above a liquid level in a casing of asubterranean well through a tube to a surface level, the pump has achamber with a fluid inlet that is gated by a stationary valve, and hasa plunger slidably engaged with the chamber, the plunger has a fluidoutlet gated by a traveling valve that is coupled to deliver well fluidsto the tube, the plunger reciprocated to vary the displacement of thechamber by a rod extending upward to a cyclical drive unit at thesurface. The method includes the steps of obtaining, in real time, asequence of rod position data samples and rod load data samplescorresponding to cyclical operation of the rod at the surface level, andcalculating, in real time, a sequence of plunger position data pointsand plunger load data points corresponding to cyclical operation of therod at the plunger location. The method further includes determining aninlet pressure at the fluid inlet to the pump, determining a dischargepressure at the fluid outlet from the pump, and calculating, inreal-time, a sequence of pump chamber pressure data points according tothe sequence of plunger load data points. The method further includesdetermining from the known physical properties of the well fluids, aratio of a gas portion to a liquid portion in the well fluids,calculating, in real-time, volumetric compression data points of the gasportion within the pump chamber, and delivering, in real-time, thevolumetric compression data points to a compression ratio data output.

In a specific embodiment of the forgoing method, the gas portioncomprises hydrocarbon gas compounds, and the liquid portion comprises ahydrocarbon liquid compounds portion and a water portion. In arefinement to this embodiment, the method further includes calculatingan effective plunger stroke factor by scaling the sequence of plungerposition points with the volumetric compression data points, therebyresulting in the effective liquid displacement of the pump chamber. In afurther refinement, the method includes displaying the effective plungerstroke factor in a graphical format. In a further refinement, the methodincludes calculating the pump liquid throughput in accordance with theeffective plunger stroke factor, including proportions in accordancewith the hydrocarbon liquid compounds portion and the water portion, andcalculating the pump gas throughput in accordance with the volumetriccompression data points of the gas portion.

In another refinement to the previous embodiment, the method furtherincludes generating a graphical representation of the pump including thechamber and the plunger and animating the movement of the plungeraccording to the plunger position data. This method further includesgraphically representing the gas portion as a proportionally sized gasarea and graphically representing the hydrocarbon liquid compoundsportion as a proportionally sized oil area within the chamber of thepump, and animating the movement of the gas portion and the hydrocarbonliquid compounds portion within the pump. In yet a further refinement,the method includes varying the size of the proportionally sized gasarea in accordance with the volumetric compression data points, therebyanimating the compression of the gas portion during cyclic operation ofthe pump.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a reproduction of a prior art dynamometer test report from theEchometer, Co. Total Well Management System.

FIG. 2 is a system diagram of two well pumps under test using a wirelessinterface for the test instrumentation according to an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a section view of a well borehole and pumping equipmentaccording to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a drawing of a surface mounted reciprocating drive unitcoupled to a wellhead assembly under test according to an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of a wireless polished rodtransducer according to an illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a top view drawing of a wireless polished rod transduceraccording to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view drawing of a wireless polished rod transduceraccording to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of acoustic liquid level meteraccording to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of a acoustic liquid level meter interfaced to awellhead casing according to an illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of a wireless computer interfaceaccording to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a front view drawing of a wireless computer interfaceaccording to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a back view drawing of a wireless computer interfaceaccording to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a processing diagram according to an illustrative embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a processing timing diagram according to an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a real-time computer display screen of the surface card andpump card for a well under test according to an illustrative embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a real-time computer display screen of the cards view alsoincluding certain force information according to an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a real-time computer display screen of the cards illustratingthe annotation options according to an illustrative embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 18 is a real-time computer display screen of a pump analysis viewfor a well under test according to an illustrative embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 19 is a time-segmented presentation of real-time pump animation fora well under test according to an illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 20 is a computer display screen of for well database selectionaccording to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a computer display screen for well structural informationentry and editing according to an illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 22 is a computer display screen for well production informationaccording to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a computer display screen of the cards view also illustratingprior test data selection according to an illustrative embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 24 is a computer screen display for animated playback of prior testdata according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a computer display screen showing an echo meter testaccording to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a computer display screen showing an echo meter test withsuperimposed well casing graphic according to an illustrative embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a computer display screen showing an echo meter test withmirrored echo trace presentation according to an illustrative embodimentof the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Illustrative embodiments and exemplary applications will now bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings to disclose theadvantageous teachings of the present invention.

While the present invention is described herein with reference toillustrative embodiments for particular applications, it should beunderstood that the invention is not limited thereto. Those havingordinary skill in the art and access to the teachings provided hereinwill recognize additional modifications, applications, and embodimentswithin the scope hereof and additional fields in which the presentinvention would be of significant utility.

In considering the detailed embodiments of the present invention, itwill be observed that the present invention resides primarily incombinations of steps to accomplish various methods or components toform various apparatus and systems. Accordingly, the apparatus andsystem components and method steps have been represented whereappropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only thosespecific details that are pertinent to understanding the presentinvention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will bereadily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having thebenefit of the disclosures contained herein.

In this disclosure, relational terms such as first and second, top andbottom, upper and lower, and the like may be used solely to distinguishone entity or action from another entity or action without necessarilyrequiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between suchentities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or any othervariation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, suchthat a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list ofelements does not include only those elements but may include otherelements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by “comprises a” does not,without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identicalelements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprisesthe element.

The systems and methods of the present disclosure employ a novel andintuitive presentation of the processed well data that is presented inreal-time and, which is more readily comprehensible to users andoperators than prior art well data systems. Thus, the present inventionadvances the art by providing a system and method for gatheringoperational data in real-time from the surface level components of apumping subterranean well, such as an oil well, and processing that datain real-time to produce detailed information, including animations, ofthe down-hole dynamic operation of the well. The resultant informationis presented to a user in real-time, typically on the display of aportable processing device. However, the resultant information can alsobe stored and communicated to a remote location. Certain data related tothe structure of the well and the nature of the well fluids, as well asprior production data, are used to augment the accuracy of the real-timecalculations. As a general comment on the nature and use of theexpression “real-time” in this disclosure, it will be appreciated bythose skilled in the art that any digital processing device necessarilyconsumes some time between receiving input data and outputting processeddata. This concept is known and is referred to as processor latency bythose skilled in the art. For example, a contemporary digital televisionrequires several seconds of processing time to display images of a livebroadcast, and such a delay is negligible in virtually all situations.In the case of the present invention, the processor delay is alsonegligible considering the nature of well operation and the cyclicalrates of pumping systems and so forth. However, for the sake ofthoroughness, where the expression “real-time” is employed herein, itmeans that data is gathered, processed, or presented without intentionaldelay, provided however that real-time latency can be induced bysensors, processing circuits, software processes, output circuits, anddisplay systems.

The inventors of the present disclosure have combined experience gainedfrom many years of computerized analysis of dynamometer records withpowerful portable computers, advanced modeling software, and advancedgraphical user interface and wireless data acquisition systems to enablethe visualization of the operation of a sucker-rod pumped wells inreal-time. Through these novel advancements, an operator can nowdirectly observe pump operation in real-time and can determine at aglance whether the pumping system is operating efficiently or requiresmodification or remedial intervention. The majority of the computationsand analysis are performed automatically. If unusual conditions areobserved, the user has access to more advanced tools that facilitate adetailed diagnostic analysis. The objective of these systems and methodsis to show to the user, at a glance, how the down-hole pump isoperating. Generally speaking, this is accomplished by acquiring thesurface load and position data while computing “on the fly” the plungerdisplacement and load, determining the pressure in the pump chamber,determining when pump valve actuations occur, and calculating thepercentage of gas and liquid as a function of plunger travel.

The illustrative embodiments presented herein, which are typicallydirected to use in oil wells and certain gas wells, enable operators toachieve several operational objectives. Among these are the ability tomonitor operation of the pump in real time, including chamber fillage,valve operation, determining if the pump is experiencing physicalinterference between various components, determining the net pumpdisplacement, comparing current performance with previous well tests,and comparison with previously recorded dynamometer tests. The operatorcan also monitor operation of the pump for some period of time with anobjective of detecting pump-off, and to detect any erratic valveoperation. Also, gathering data for setting pump timers or pump-offcontrollers. Gathering information on the accuracy of donut-type loadcells used with pump-off controllers. Determining whether the rodloading is within industry standards guidelines, and other operationalobjective. The illustrative embodiments also provide advanced systemcapabilities. These include a more simplified test set-up and quickacquisition using a clamp-on polished rod transducer (“PRT”) or wirelesspolished rod transducer (“WPRT”). The systems maximize utilization ofhigh-resolution graphical display outputs, which provides the mostimportant information on one display screen, and the emphasis ongraphics over alpha-numeric output. Also, user selectable output contentto tailor information to the operator's needs and preferences, includinguser selectable analysis graphs. Also, the ability to display priordynamometer test results and simultaneously overlay real-time testresults for immediate comparison. And, the ability to import testresults and data sets from prior generation systems.

The data acquisition systems of the present invention are designed toallow simultaneous recording of polished rod acceleration and strain,and casing and tubing pressure, and fluid level. The systems alsoprocess data so that, on a portion of a display, there is also presentedthe real time visualization of the fluid level and fluid distribution inthe wellbore. This complements the visualization of the pump operationand shows the user the interrelation between the pump operation and thefluids and pressures that exist in the well and at the pump intake, thusproviding complete monitoring of the pumped artificial lift system.Visualization of the fluid distribution inside the pump requiresanalyzing the behavior of the well fluid's gas-liquid mixture as afunction of pressure, considering the solubility of the gas phase intothe hydrocarbon liquids. In general terms the calculations are based onthe Real Gas Law's pressure, volume, and temperature (“PVT”)relationship for hydrocarbons. These are obtained from generalizedcorrelations as a function of fluid specific gravities and compositions,including API gravity, pressure, and temperature. The origins of the gasinside the pump barrel include free gas that may be present at the pumpintake and/or gas that evolves from the liquid due to pressure dropcaused by flow through the pump intake. The rate of gas evolution fromor dissolution into the liquids is considered to occur within the timingof typical pumping speed, which is in the range of several seconds percyclical pump stroke.

Reference is directed to FIG. 2, which is a system diagram of two oilwell pumps under test using wireless interfaces for the testinstrumentation according to an illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention. A first pump jack 8 and a second pump jack 10 are coupled tolift well fluids out of a first well head casing 12 and a second wellhead casing 22, respectively. “Pump jack” is a customary term used todescribe a walking-beam type cyclical reciprocating drive for sucker-roddriven down-hole pump. Pump jack 8 is illustrated at the top of itsstroke where the polished rod 14 is drawn upward and fully extended outof the casing 12. A wireless polished rod transducer (“WPRT”) 16 istemporarily clamped to the polished rod 14 and travels up and down withthe rod's stroke. A radio transceiver in WPRT 16 communicates within awireless network 2 that generally operates in compliance with I.E.E.E.protocol standard 802.15.4. In the illustrative embodiment, the wirelessnetwork operates in the 2.4 GHz band, although other radio frequencybands could be employed. A wireless acoustic liquid level meter andpressure transducer interface 18, which is generally referred to as awireless remote fire gun (“WRFG”) because the acoustic liquid level testis initiated with a burst of gas pressure released in gun-like fashion,is pneumatically coupled to the wellhead casing 12. The WRFG 18 operatesto initiate an acoustic echo test into the well casing and then detectsthe return echo signal for further analysis. The WRFG 18 also comprisespressure transducers that sense well casing pressure and/or well tubingpressure. All of these signals are coupled to wireless transceiver 20,which also communicates with wireless network 2. Similarly, pump jack 10is illustrated at the lowest position in it stroke, where the polishedrod 24 is fully lowered into the well casing 22. Polished rod 24 alsohas a WPRT 26 temporarily attached thereto, which communicates with thewireless network 2. A second WRFG 28 with wireless transceiver 30 isattached to well head casing 22 and wirelessly communicates within thewireless network 2. In the illustrative embodiments, the protocoldefines up to sixty-four data channels when operating a data samplerates of 30 HZ per channel. Higher data rates are supported, which acorresponding reduction in the number of data channels. For example,data rates as high a 4 kHz may be employed to provide high resolution ofsystem performance where needed.

FIG. 2 illustrates a test set-up for a well site having two pumping oilwells. Such tests are run occasionally, so it is preferable for theWPRT's 16 and 26 and the WRFG's 18 and 28 to be attached to the wells onthe day of the test, then removed at the end of the test, to be taken tothe next well site for subsequent testing elsewhere. The data gatheredduring the test is coupled to a processor 4, which is typically a laptoptype personal computer. The interface to the processor 4 is via awireless transceiver 6 connected to the processor through a serial portand wirelessly communicating within the wireless network 2 using theaforementioned IEEE protocol standard. Of course, other wireless systemsand protocols could be employed, as will be appreciated by those skilledin the art. The wireless feature of this system design is beneficial inthat it eliminates the need for interconnecting cables between the hostcomputer and the polished rod transducers and the remote fire gun. Suchcables are heavy, cumbersome, subject to failure, and generally requiregreater effort to utilize. However, it is to be understood that thereal-time measuring, processing, testing and display features of thepresent invention could be implemented with a system employing eitherwireless interfaces or wired interfaces. The processor 4 executessoftware programs and algorithms that enable a wide range of functionsof the present invention, including gathering test measurements,maintaining reference database information, processing data to providereal-time results, generating graphical and alpha-numeric output data,and driving hardware devices including a display and serial port, aswell as other features of the present invention discussed morethoroughly hereinafter.

Reference is directed to FIG. 3, which is a section view of a wellborehole and pumping equipment according to an illustrative embodimentof the present invention. While there are a number of subterranean welldesigns in use today, the well 32 illustrated in FIG. 3 is one that isuseful as a point of reference in an illustrative embodiment for many ofthe features of the present invention. The well 32 is built by drillinga borehole down from a surface level 33 to a geological formation 36that contains the desired well fluids, and in the illustrativeembodiment those are crude oil and natural gas. Water is a byproduct ofwell operation, and must be dealt with during operation. As the well 32is drilled, a well casing 34 is placed into the borehole to maintain itsintegrity over time. In the area of the formation 36, the well casing isperforated 38 to enable well fluids to flow into the casing and toenable the desired pumping operation for recovery of those fluids at thesurface. The well fluids will generally seek an equilibrium conditionand establish a liquid level 60 at some depth within the casing 34. Thewell fluids are comprised of crude oil, natural gas and water. Thus, thecasing above the liquid level 60 is filled with natural gas. Below theliquid level 60, the casing is filled with a mixture of water and crudeoil, with some gas mixed therein. However, it should be noted that theliquid contains a significant portion of the gas bubbles that rise, andthat the crude oil and water also migrate within the liquid according totheir respective densities and viscosities. At the times that pumpingoccurs, the fluid dynamics in the well are complex.

After the well casing 34 is built in FIG. 3, a tubing string 57 islowered from the surface level 33 into the region of the formation 36and below the liquid level 60. The tubing string 57 is generallycomprised of plural tubing sections 56 that are interconnected withplural couplings 58, although continuous tubing strings are known in theart. As a side note, the scale of FIG. 3 is greatly distorted toillustrate details. In particular, the depth of the well 32 wouldtypically be in the range of thousands of feet while the diameter of thecasing is in the range of several inches. At any rate, a pump assembly52 is attached to the bottom of tubing string 57. The pump consists of achamber 44 with a stationary check valve 46 at the bottom coupled to thepump inlet 42. This is also referred to as the fluid inlet 42. Attachedto the pump inlet 42, there is a gas-liquid separator 40, which iscommonly called a “gas anchor”. The gas anchor 40 functions to divertmost of the gas away from the pump inlet so that pump efficiency isenhanced in that a greater percentage of liquid is pumped. Gas in thepump chamber 44 compresses and reduces the effective pump displacementand efficiency. The pump 52 further includes a plunger 48 that includesa traveling check valve 50. As the plunger cycles up and down, thevolume of the chamber 44 is displaced, and the valves 42 and 50 workcooperatively to force fluids upward through the pump 52 and into thetubing string 57. The plunger 52 is driven by a sucker-rod string 54that is located within the tubing string 57. The sucker-rod extends upto the surface level 33, and is terminated with a polished rod portionto sealably engage a gland seal 62. The sucker rod 54 may employ adiameter that changes in steps to account for gradually increasing loadtoward the surface level.

With respect to the surface level equipment in FIG. 3, the top of well32 is terminated by a well head assembly 61 consisting of a casing headand pumping tee, which couples to the top of the well casing 34 and thetop of the tubing string 57. The sucker rod 54 passes through the wellhead casing 61, and a gland seal 62 is used to seal gases and liquidsfrom the ambient environment. The top portion of the sucker rod 54 ispolished to maintain a tight seal, and is thusly referred to as thepolished rod. The liquids and gases produced by the well 32 are routedto processing and storage equipment (not shown) by a plumbing system 64.And acoustic echo meter 66 is pneumatically coupled to the annulusbetween the interior of the casing 34 and the exterior of the tubingstring 57. An acoustic shock wave is released into the annulus, and theresulting echo is detected by the acoustic liquid level meter 66, whichis used to measure the actual liquid level 60 and other useful data. Awireless transceiver 70 is used to communicate with the echo meter 66. Awired interface can also be used. The echo meter 66 also includes apressure sensor that detects the casing pressure at the surface level33. In addition a tubing string pressure sensor 68 is coupled to theinterior cavity of the tubing string 56 to detect the pressure therein,and also wirelessly communicates within the aforementioned wirelessnetwork.

Reference is directed to FIG. 4, which is a drawing of a surface mountedreciprocating pump drive 83 coupled to a wellhead casing 61 under testaccording to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4corresponds to the subterranean well equipment discussed in regards toFIG. 3. In FIG. 4, a conventional reciprocating drive unit 83, alsoreferred to as a pump jack, cycles the polished rod 54 up and down todrive the subterranean well pump (not shown). The drive unit 83 consistsof a reduction drive with Pitman arm 82 coupled to a walking beam 80,which is supported on a Sampson post 84. A horse head 78 on the walkingbeam 80 supports a cable bridle 76 which is connected to the polishedrod 54 by a carrier bar 74. These are well known terms of art. Awireless polished rod transducer (“WPRT”) 72 of the present invention istemporarily clamped to the polished 54, and cycles up and down with thepolished rod 54 during the test procedure. The wellhead components ofFIG. 4 where previously described with respect to FIG. 3.

Reference is directed to FIG. 5, which is a functional block diagram ofa wireless polished rod transducer (“WPRT”) 200 according to anillustrative embodiment of the present invention. Attention is againdirected to the McCoy et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,406,482 and 5,464,058 U.Spatents discussed in the Background of the Invention section. Theillustrative embodiment of FIG. 5 advances the art with the use of awireless transceiver 204 and certain advanced processing techniques andfeatures to enhance and simplify well testing procedures. The physicalsensors of the WPRT 200 are an accelerometer 226 and a group of straingauges wired in a Whetstone bridge circuit 228 (collectively “straingauge”). The accelerometer 226 detects acceleration in the up and downmovement of the polished rod. The raw signal is amplified by amplifier222 and filtered by anti-aliasing filter 218 prior to being digitallysamples at a rate of 30 Hz by analog to digital converter 214. Thesampled acceleration signal is then coupled to processor 210. The straingauge 228 is clamped to the polished rod by C-clamp structure 230 andsetscrew 232. The setscrew 232 is tightened to preload the bridgecircuit 228 into a suitable operating tension. As the polished rodcycles up and down, the tensile load changes and the strain gauge 228detects minute changes in the rod diameter. This data is processed todetermine the magnitude of the tensile load on the polished rod. Thedifferential voltages across nodes the Whetstone bridge 228 areamplified by differential amplifier 224 and are then filtered byanti-aliasing filter 220 before being sampled at a rate of 30 Hz byanalog to digital converter 216. The sampled strain data is then coupledto a processor 210 in the WPRT circuit 200. Note that ADC 214 and ADC216 are synchronized so that the data sample sets precise coincide intime. The processor 210 has access to memory 212 for temporary storageof variable, reference values, unit identity, and program object code.An I.E.E.E. 802.15.4 compliant transceiver 204 is used as acommunications link into a local wireless network. A display 208,comprised of plural light emitting diodes, is provided for basicoperational indicators, including a strain gauge pre-load indicatorfunction. A battery and power circuit 206 in the WPRT 200 provides powerto the circuits discussed above.

Reference is directed to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, which are top view and sideview drawings, respectively, of a wireless polished rod transduceraccording to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. Thestructure of FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 correspond, in part, to the functions ofFIG. 5. The WPRT 200 is fabricated as a single structural unit, machinedfrom a suitable material such as stainless steel, to provide a ruggedand unified device. One end of the device is formed in theaforementioned C-clamp 230 configuration, with a setscrew 232 providedto clamp the unit onto a polished rod 234 at the time a test isconducted. The strain gauge sensors 228 are locate along the clamp 230to detect the strain forces applied to the polished rod 234, whichchange along with minute changes in the rod 234 diameter. Theaccelerometer 226 is fixed within the frame of the WPRT 200 as well. Theother end of the WPRT 200 frame comprises a cavity 236 for housing 236the aforementioned circuitry. A printed circuit board 240 and circuitcomponents 242 are located therein. The storage battery 244 is alsolocating in the cavity 236. The antenna 202 for the transceiver 204extends out from the cavity 236. The display 208 LEDs appear on theexterior of the WPRT 200.

Reference is directed to FIG. 8, which is a functional block diagram ofa acoustic liquid level meter 100 according to an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention. Since the acoustic liquid levelmeter 100 releases a strong acoustic pulse to initiate a measurement, itis referred to as a “gun”, and since it is remotely activated, it isreferred to as a remote fire gun. In the case of the wirelessembodiment, a wireless remote fire gun, or “WRFG”. Since the WRFG 100 iscoupled to the well casing annulus, it is also used as a host interfacefor a pressure sensor 114. This is particularly useful where severalsensors are coupled to a single wireless transceiver, or a commoninterface cable. In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 8, there is apressure sensor a casing pressure sensor 114. The acoustic echo meter100 includes a solenoid valve 104 to release a precharged pressurecanister on demand, and a piezoelectric microphone 108 to ‘listen’ tothe return echo signals. The solenoid valve 104 is driven by a drivecircuit 106. The microphone 108 is coupled to an amplifier 110, which iscoupled to an anti-aliasing filter 112, before being sampled by ananalog to digital converter 122. In the illustrative embodiment, themicrophone is sampled at 1 kHz. The casing pressure sensor 114 iscoupled to anti-aliasing filter 116 before being sampled at 30 Hz byanalog to digital converter 123. The sampled signals are then coupled toprocessor 126. The processor 126 has access to memory 128 for temporarystorage of variable, reference values, unit identity, and program objectcode. An I.E.E.E. 802.15.4 compliant transceiver 130 is used as acommunications link into a local wireless network. A display 150,comprised of plural light emitting diodes, is provided for basicoperational indicators. A battery and power circuit 132 in the WRFG 100provides power to the circuits discussed above.

Reference is directed to FIG. 9, which is a drawing of a wireless remotefire gun (“WRFG”) 100 interface to a wellhead casing 101 according to anillustrative embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 generallycorresponds to the functions of FIG. 8. In FIG. 9, the WRFG 100 isacoustically coupled to the well casing 101 so as to conduct echo metermeasurements. The WRFG 100 includes the solenoid valve 104 and thepiezoelectric microphone 108. There is a casing pressure senor 114pneumatically coupled to the casing through the RFG 100. All of thecomponents are interface to the control circuit 102, which includes theinterfaces, processor and wireless transceiver. Antenna 134 communicateswithin the wireless network. All of these instruments are interface tothe wellhead at the time of testing. Additionally, there is tubingpressure sensor 118 in FIG. 9 that is pneumatically coupled to measurethe tubing 103 pressure level. The tubing pressure sensor 118 includesits own anti aliasing filter (not shown), 30 Hz analog to digitalconverter (not shown), processor (not shown) and wirelessly transceiver(not shown) coupled to antenna 135 for communicating within the wirelessnetwork. The digital and communication circuits are essentially the sameas for the RFG of FIG. 8.

Reference is directed to FIG. 10, which is a functional block diagram ofa wireless computer interface 140 according to an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention. As was discussed regarding FIG. 2,the wireless network is hosted by a personal computer with a wirelessinterface. FIG. 10 is an illustrative embodiment wireless interface 140.A ZigBee compliant transceiver 142 with antenna 144 is interface to aprocessor 156. The processor 156 has access to memory 154 for storage ofvariable, reference data and program code. A display 150 provides alimited user interface to indicate status of device operation. A batteryand power circuit 148 is provided to power the various circuits in thedevice. A serial interface port 146 is coupled to the processor 156, andprovides the point of interface to a personal computer 156, whichexternal to the wireless interface 140.

Reference is directed to FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, which are front view andback view drawings, respectively, of the wireless computer interface 140according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. Thesefigures correspond to FIG. 10. The wireless interface is housed in arugged enclosure 140, which has an antenna and connector 144. Thedisplay indicators 150 are plural LED's on the front to indicate systemstatus information to the user. On the back are a pair of USB serialport connectors 146A and 146B, with different physical configurations.There is also a pair of power connectors for use in vehicular and fixedcharging applications.

Reference is directed to FIG. 13, which is a processing diagramaccording to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. Themethods of the presently claimed invention are primarily executed onprocessors. The test equipment, including the polished rod transducer,the acoustic liquid level meter, and the pressure sensors are coupled toa well and then the test measurements are taken in real-time. The datareceived from the test equipment is also processed in real-time and theresultant output information is displayed in real-time as well. In anillustrative embodiment, a portable personal computer is used as thedata processing processor. The test equipment also utilizes processorsfor certain functions related to that sensor's operations andcommunications with the processor in the computer, including wirelesscommunications. Thus, most of the software is loaded onto the computerand is execute by the computer in real-time. In addition to thereal-time test data, the computer has access to a static database ofinformation that is also used in the calculations. This informationincludes data on the well structure under test, data on the nature ofthe well fluids, and data about the well production history. Thedatabase may contain information for a great number of wells. The systemalso accumulates current real-time test data into the database, which isbeneficial for comparing real-time performance data with past test data.It is instructive to compare current performance with past performanceof a given well. In addition, the processor can generate portable filesof information that can be communicated to other processors forconcurrent or later review. For example, a pump animation file can begenerated in a standardized format, such as an MPEG file, andcommunicated to a distant location via the Internet so that others canwitness or review a test operation. There are interrelationships in thedatabases and test data, as well as in the calculations that processthem. These build upon one another to an ultimate output in a graduatedfashion. FIG. 13 presents a logical arrangement of these processes.

In FIG. 13, the left hand column, labeled Col. A, presents functionalblocks representing sources of data and information. The center column,labeled Col. B, presents functional blocks that represent calculationsand data processing activities. The right column, labeled Col. C,presents functional blocks that represent output processing and displayactivities. Block 500 represents the database information characterizingthe well structure and equipment specifications. For example, this wouldinclude the depth of the well, the diameter and length of thesucker-rod, and, the diameter, weight, and length of the tubing string,the characteristics of the pump-jack, the specifications of thedown-hole pump and so forth. This information is input to the databasemanually, or is transferred from another source where the informationhas already been tabulated. This is important information because it isrelied upon for a great number of the calculations, notably the waveequation modeling of down-hole pump dynamics, the fluid column pressurecalculations, and efficiency calculations. Block 506 represents thefunction of gathering the polished rod acceleration and strain data inreal-time from the polished rod transducer. It can also represent thesimilar data recalled from a database for use in past and presentoperation comparisons. Having the well structure information 500 and thereal-time polished rod transducer acceleration and strain sampling data,the processing of block 508 can be undertaken in real-time. This blockapplies a set of calculations that convert the acceleration data intovelocity data and then into position data, and also converts the straindata into load data in real time. Having the stream of real-timepolished rod position and load data available, the process can directlyoutput a surface card at block 510, including a cursor showing theinstant advancement of the surface card in real-time. In practicalterms, this means that the computer hosting the inventive processes cannow display a real-time graphic of the surface card, plotted as the pumpoperates in real-time, subject only to a moment of processor latency.

Another feature of the present invention is the system's ability toidentify and segregate individual strokes of the pumping operation, andits ability to delimit them in a consistent manner, such as at the topor bottom of each pump jack stroke. At the beginning of each real-timetest session, the system conducts a stroke processing operation toisolate individual strokes of the pumping system and to determine asuitable point to delineate individual strokes. Stroke processing ismore fully discussed with references to FIG. 14, hereinafter. Continuingnow in FIG. 13, having both the raw sensor data from block 506 and theposition and load data from block 508 in FIG. 13, the process is enabledto conduct the stroke processing at block 502. Stroke processing is afairly complex process of analyzing raw acceleration data, smoothing it,detecting patterns and thresholds, and then applying those to theprocessed position data. Once this has been accomplished, the functionalblock of segregating and delimiting the individual strokes can beaccomplished at block 504, and the stroke reference position can be usedto synchronize all data in the various processes, one of which is theorienting of the stroke cycles in the surface card 510. The data setscan be presented and stored as individual strokes in the illustrativeembodiment, or the raw data can be re-processed at a later time. Thenext steps in the processes are to develop the data representing thedown-hole pump operation, most notably the pump card, in real-time.

Functional block 514 in FIG. 13 represents the real-time calculation ofthe pump load and position through use of the wave equation calculationprocess, and also the real-time tubing string stretch, if applicable.The program code of the illustrative embodiment processes the stream ofload data in conjunction with the positional data to generate adown-hole pump card dataset. Mathematical relationships have beendeveloped to calculate the load in a moving rod at distances from areference point. See Gibbs, S. G., “Predicting the Behavior of SuckerRod Pumping Systems”, Journal of Petroleum Technology, July 1963, andthe prior art cited in the Background of the Invention section, above.The surface change in load data generated by the polished rod transduceris used in conjunction with surface acceleration, velocity and positiondata to calculate loadings on a down hole pump. The movement and dynamiceffects of the rod as well as damping factors are considered in thecalculation of the down hole pump card, which can be graphed as loadversus position. This process takes input from the well structure, block500, and the real-time polished rod position and load data stream, block508, and calculates in real-time, the rod position and load at the pointwhere the pump plunger attaches to the rod. Having the pump load andposition data stream available, the system can present a pump card inreal time at block 516. This can also include a moving cursor on thepump card that highlights the instant position and load of the pumpplunger in real-time. Furthermore, since the pump position data streamis available, block 514, and the structure of the pump is known, block500, the system is enabled to present an animation of the pump movementin real-time at block 520. There are a finite number of pumpconfigurations used in the industry, and the software is enable toselect a pump graphic based one the actual structure of the well, block500, and present a suitable pump graphic in the animation. The plungerof the pump is moved in real-time in the animation according to the pumpcard position data. Additionally, the stretch of the tubing stringduring the pumping cycle can also be calculated in the wave equationcalculations, and can also be animated in the pump animation. Whatresults is a remarkably clear and intuitive picture of what is happeningwith the down-hole pump. This is a novel test, calculation andpresentation sequence that provides great utility to the operator, andit is provided in real time.

Another aspect of the system operation in FIG. 13 is the ability of thetest equipment to measure the liquid level of the well casing. This isrepresented by the echo meter at block 512. Since data on the wellfluids is known to the system from block 522, including specificgravity, and since the depths of the well components is know from thewell structural data, block 500, the system can calculate system staticpressure based on the gravity of the liquid and gas columns. At block518, the system calculates the pump inlet pressure based on the columnof gas and liquid in the casing. This is due, in part, by theavailability of the tubing and casing pressure data measured at block536. This enables the system to accurately calculate pump pressures atblock 524. The pump discharge pressure can be calculated from the weightof the liquid column in the tubing string, again, based on the gravityof the well liquid and the depth of the pump in the well. The tubingsurface pressure can be added improve accuracy of the discharge pressurecalculation. As noted, the pump inlet pressure and discharge pressureare known. Also, the system as the instant real-time load on the plungerfrom block 514. In addition, the area of the pump plunger is known fromblock 500. Therefore, the pump chamber pressure, in real-time, can becalculated as the discharge pressure less the force on the plungerdivided by the area of the plunger, and net of the pump inlet pressure.This set of calculations at block 524 provides a vivid depiction of pumpdynamics in real-time, and this information is present to the user atblock 526.

Continuing in FIG. 13, since the real-time pump dynamic pressures areknown, this information can be used to determine when the stationaryvalve and the traveling valve transition between open and close statesbecause these transitions are largely dependent upon differentialpressure in the pump. And, these calculations are conducted at block528. Knowing the real-time valve actuation times, the system adds thisto the pump animation at step 530. Thusly, the physical valve movement,another vivid presentation of real-time pump operation is added to thereal-time animation. Block 532 takes this to an even higher level byincorporation gas compression dynamics into the calculations. Theproduction data, block 52, provides useful information about the ratioof gas to liquid production, including gas to oil and gas to water.Also, the real-time pump card, 516, provides an indication of the gascompression phase of each upstroke. This information enables the systemto calculate the volumetric compression of the gas in the pump chamberin real-time. This ratio is used to present a two-dimensionalcompression graphic in the pump animation at step 534. This is outputfor the user by graphically presenting bubbles of gas and oil flowingthough the pump chamber in the pump animation, and scaling the bubblesizes according to volumetric ratios, in real-time, and then scaling thesize of the two-dimensional gas bubbles according to the gas compressiondata at block 534. The sequence of activities in FIG. 13 will be morefully developed as the subsequent screen-shots of the illustrativeembodiment are presented and explained below.

The foregoing discussion outlines the core information flow in thereal-time processing operation of the illustrative embodiment. It isnoteworthy that there are many other metrics and performance aspectsaddressed in the system that provides useful information to theoperator. For example, there are various ways to consider the weights ofthe structure and forces acting down-hole that are indicators as tosystem operation. There are also a number of graphical presentationtechniques that are familiar to operators based on prior artpresentation methods that can be employed. These aspects will also beaddressed in the following discussions.

Reference is directed to FIG. 14, which is a processing timing diagramaccording to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. As wasbriefly mentioned above, the system of the illustrative embodimentemploys a stroke processing algorithm to “prime” the real-timeoperations of the system. FIG. 14 is presented to clarify some of thetiming aspects in operation of the illustrative embodiment system,including the stroke processing function 513. The graphical plotspresented in FIG. 14 are not typically generated as direct output,although the data represented in the plots is generated and utilized incertain output functions of the system. The first plot, 501, issinusoidal and represents the cyclical movement of the surface driveunit over time 507, such as the motion of the polished rod driven by aconventional pump jack. Each full cycle of the drive unit amounts to asingle stroke of the polished rod from bottom to top and back to bottom.The strokes are conveniently divided at the bottom position of eachcycle 509, and are number in the drawing; Stroke 1, Stroke 2, Stroke 3,Stroke 4, etc. Plot 501 can thus be appreciated to be the mechanicalposition of the polished rod as a function of time. The data therepresents plot 501 is input into the system of the present inventionusing the polished rod transducer, which is coupled to the polished rodat some moment in time, represented by point 519 on plot 501. Plot 503represents the ongoing load on the polished rod, which is actuallycalculated from the raw acceleration data and raw strain data gatheredby the polished rod transducer. Plot 505 represents the calculated loadon the pump, which is derived from the load and position data on thepolished rod in conjunction with mechanical and structural informationknown about the well under test. Note that the processed pump curve 505is not accurately generated until after the completion of the strokeprocessing function. Note further that there is a processor lag time 511between the instant the polished rod actually moves and the instant thatthe processed polished rod data 503 can be presented. Further, there iseven more lag 515 between the instant that the processed polished roddata 503 is available and the instant that the process pump data 505 hasbeen computed. The relationship of the data processing flow wasdiscussed above with regard to FIG. 13. It is further noted, that it isbeneficial to synchronize the presentation of all aspects of the datapresented in the illustrative embodiment system, even though its actualmoment of presentation my be slightly delayed by processor latency.

The stroke processing function and time period 513 enable theillustrative embodiment to accurately identify individual pumping unitstrokes, and also to reliably delineate them within the collected rawdata set, for example, by reference to the data point at the lowestposition of the polished rod during each stroke. This reference pointcan then be used to synchronize all of the data extracted and presentedin this disclosure even though that extracted data has been subject tosome processor latency. To accomplish this, the real-time processemploys a two stroke priming period 513, in FIG. 14, which operates asfollows. The polished rod transducer, once attached, provides acontinuous stream of load and acceleration data, which is sampled at 30Hz in the illustrative embodiment. A full stroke of the surface pumpingunit is one cycle of the up and down motions of the pumping unit head,beginning and ending at identified junctures of oscillation, whichagain, is the bottom of each stroke in the illustrative embodiment.Identifying individual strokes on an ongoing basis in the real-timestream of acceleration data is at the core of synchronization in theillustrative embodiment of the present invention. Strokes of the pumpingunit are assumed to follow a consistent cyclical path, resulting in asinusoidal shape of the data stream, similar to plot 501 in FIG. 14. Thepumping units have a mechanically fixed stroke length, although theduration of these strokes does vary. Ideally, finding correspondingpoints in each subsequent upstroke enables precise identification of thepumping cycle operations. The nature of the data collected presentschallenges to readily identifying these corresponding points. The“noisy” acceleration curve and misalignment of discrete points inconsecutive strokes, due in part to fixed rate sampling, increase thedifficulty in identifying strokes.

The illustrative embodiment stroke processing method locates andextracts a segment of data that represent two strokes of the pumpingunit, illustrated as the Stroke Processing 509 in FIG. 14. This is basedon the sampling of the acceleration of the polished rod a 30 Hz,creating an ongoing stream of discreet raw acceleration data points,which presents the “noisy” curve profile. The raw acceleration data isfiltered using a box-car filter, which act as a broad-band movingaverage filter, to smooth the shape of the acceleration curve. Theprocess then identifies reference lines at the 25^(th) and 75^(th)percentiles of the smoothed curve's value range. Useful points areidentified, including positive crossing points, where the filtered curvecrosses the 75^(th) percentile line in a positive direction, andnegative crossing points, where the filtered curve crosses the 25^(th)percentile line in a negative direction, thus producing a sequence tocrossing points arranged as negative, positive, negative, positive, etc.The process then selects a “candidate” two-stroke interval 513 betweennegative crossing points, and then reason tests the sequence of negativeand positive crossing values to determine if they are within reasonableinterval to time and magnitude values. Assuming they are, the processthen centers the candidate segment about zero to prepare forintegration. Next, the process integrates the acceleration data, asopposed to the filtered data, within candidate interval to yield avelocity curve for the candidate period. Then, the process identifiespositive and negative zero crossing points and peak values in thevelocity curve, and compares values of consecutive velocity peaks todetermine if the data set truly defines a two-stroke interval. A valuedifferential of less than one percent is expected, and if true, confirmsvalidity of the interval. The process then extracts a single strokebetween a first peak and a second peak in the velocity curve. It thencenters the single stroke of the velocity curve about zero to prepareform integration to a position curve. The velocity curve is integratedto generate a position curve for one stroke, where the first minimum inthe position curve is defined as the bottom of the stroke, which isapplied as the zero position to the present raw data stream.Furthermore, the process continuously applies the forgoing test sequenceto maintain real-time stroke zero position (bottom) segregation ofstreaming raw data. Thusly, the system can calculate the pump dynagraphin real-time and reference position and time to aforementioned surfacedynagraph care frame of reference, all based on a common referenceposition in the raw streaming data. Furthermore, this reference pointcarries through all of the time sensitive data calculations so that alloutput data and graphical elements of the present invention are fullysynchronized. Not that this process can also be applied to raw data thathas been saved from a prior test.

Again considering FIG. 14, note that the real-time movement curve 501,the processed polished rod curve 503, the processed pump curve 505, thecalculated valve actuation events 517, and other processed data (e.g.dynagraph generation, tubing stretch calculations, plunger travel, pumppressures, gas compression pump animations, and others) can besynchronized at the time of output presentation by reference to thestroke segregation in the raw data, even thought the processor latencyof the processor running the processes produces time lags 511, 515, andothers.

Reference is directed to FIG. 15, which is a real-time computer displayscreen of the surface card and pump card for a well under test accordingto an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. The figurepresents a screen capture like image of the “Cards View” screen 600 thatpresents the surface dynagraph 602 and the pump dynagraph 604. The CardsScreen 600 also presents an animated graphic of the well pump 606. Thereis also other information displayed, and that will be discussedhereinafter. The surface card 602 presents a real-time plot of loadversus position of the polished rod, including a moving cursor 628 toshow the instant real-time position and load. The maximum rod travel,100″ in this embodiment, is identified by a vertical line 626 on thesurface card 602. In this embodiment, a rod and tubing stretch line,abbreviated Kr & Kt, 624 is presented. The pump card 604 presents areal-time plot 635 of load versus position for the rod at the down-holepump plunger location. This plot presents a zero line 634, which matchesthe position of a zero line 625 on the surface card 602. The pump card604 also shows a vertical maximum plunger (MPT) travel line 632 that ismarked as 89.55 inches in this embodiment. Note that the polished rodtravel is 100″ while the pump travel is about 90 inches, and this is dueto the effects of rod and tubing stretch during operation. The pump card604 also presents an effective plunger travel (EPT) line 630, marked as73.21 inches in this embodiment. This line illustrates the degree of gascompression in the pump chamber required to increase pressure to thelevel where liquid flows and the valves transition to begin pumpingaction. Stated another way, MPT minus EFT is the compression travel ofthe pump, which is 16.34 inches (89.55 minus 73.21) in this embodiment.It is noted that the displayed effective plunger travel line 630 is drawbased on the performance data from the immediately previous strokeduring real-time operation because a full set of data is not availableto calculate this value until the end of each stroke.

The pump card 604 plot 635 also presents the stationary valve andtraveling valve opening and closing points, which are indicated as dots,generally at the four corners of the plot 635, and labeled accordingly(SV Close, TV Open, TV Close and SV Open). As discussed earlier, thesepoint are determined by differential pressure in the pump and throughother means and estimations. The valve actuation points are determinedby other means in other embodiments. In one embodiment, the travelingvalve opening event is determined to be at the top of the plungerstroke. In another embodiment the traveling valve opening event iddetermined to be after plunger load has deceased 15% from its peakvalue. In another embodiment, the traveling valve closing event isdetermined be the plunger reaching its lowest position. In anotherembodiment, the stationary valve closing event is determined as theplunger in its highest position. Continuing in FIG. 15, as the pumpoperates and the test commences, the cursors 628 and 636 move about theplots and the user can visually study the dynamic operation inreal-time. One interesting aspect realized in this viewing processes isthat the pump card cursor appears to lag the surface card cursor, andthis is due to the rod stretch effects produced in the wave equationcalculations. To further enhance this visualization, the illustrativeembodiment present an animated pump graphic 606 together with the cardplots.

The animated pump graphic 606 in FIG. 15 illustrates the pump chamber610 with the stationary valve 608 at the bottom, and the plunger 613 andtraveling valve 612 stroking up and down in real time. The animatedgraphic 606 also illustrates the sucker-rod 614 and the bridle 616 atthe surface level. The valves 608 and 612 are also animated and movebetween open and closed positions according to the data set used to drawthe plot 635, and is therefore animated in synchronous with the plot andin real-time. The pump and chamber also present graphic depictions ofthe oil (black bubbles) and gas (white bubbles) moving within thecyclical operation, and these will be discussed further hereinafter. Thecard view screen 600 also presents other real-time information,including the production rate of the well in barrels per day 622, thefillage percentage of the pump chamber 602, which is based on theaforementioned gas compression, and the pumps cyclical rate 618 instrokes per minute. Other information on the cards view 600 isself-evident. In the illustrative embodiment, the pump fillage data isderived from the immediately previous stroke since the data for thecurrent stroke is incomplete until the end of each stroke. On the otherhand, in a replay mode of display, the pump fillage data from thecurrent stroke is applied.

Reference is directed to FIG. 16, which is a real-time computer displayscreen of a cards view 640 also including certain force informationaccording to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. Thisview is very similar to the view from FIG. 15, however, a different setof annotations are presented. The illustrative embodiment is capable ofcalculating various loads within the pumping well, which are usefulaugmentations for more detailed analysis by the operator. In FIG. 16,the cards view screen 640 includes a surface dynagraph 642 with plot 647that displays a horizontal line 648 indicating the weight of the rod,which is suspended from the pump jack, and which is 8.05 kips in thisembodiment. This weight is derived from the well structural information.The surface card also presents a line 646, which is the sum of theweight of the sucker rod plus a calculated maximum upward force on therod at the plunger. This is annotated on the card 642 as Wrf+FoMax andis 12.07 kips. FoMax is calculated from the structural well data andproduction data, and is equal to the weight of the column of wellliquids in the tube that must be lifted by the plunger on the upstrokein the case where there is assumed to be zero chamber pressure.

The cards view 640 in FIG. 16 also includes a pump card 644 with a forceversus position plot 651 for the rod at the pump plunger location. Thiscard also includes a horizontal line 652, which represents the maximumupward force on the plunger. It is indicated to be FoMax=4.02 kips inthe illustrative embodiment. As noted above, FoMax is calculated fromthe structural well data and production data, and is equal to the weightof the column of well liquids in the tube that must be lifted by theplunger on the upstroke in the case where there is assumed to be zerochamber pressure. The pump card 644 also presents a second horizontalline 650, indicating actual upward force at the pump plunger, and it isindicated to be FoUp=4.23 kips in the illustrative embodiment. FoUp iscalculated as the rod load at the plunger location from theaforementioned wave equation. The difference between FoMax and FoUp isthe chamber pressure assist pressure. In addition to the force relatedannotation presented in FIG. 15, the present invention offers the user anumber of other annotation options.

Reference is directed to FIG. 17, which is a real-time computer displayscreen of the cards illustrating the annotation options according to anillustrative embodiment of the present invention. Various arrangement ofinformation can be presented in the illustrative embodiment, and theuser has control of their selection, as well as certain annotations thatmay be added to the cards view screen, as seen in this FIG. 16. Theannotation options include:

-   -   1) Placing the surface card and pump card on a single plot,        sharing the vertical load axis.    -   2) Display rod and tubing stretch lines on the surface card.    -   3) Displaying a tubing stretch line on the pump card.    -   4) Calculated buoyant of weight plus fluid maximum load.    -   5) Calculated buoyant rod weight.    -   6) Fo Max Line.    -   7) Fo Line.    -   8) Valve open and close points.    -   9) Zero axis.    -   10) Effective plunger stroke.    -   11) Maximum plunger travel.    -   12) Pressures.    -   13) Pump discharge pressure.    -   14) Pump intake pressure.

Reference is directed to FIG. 18, which is a real-time computer displayscreen of a Pump Analysis View for a well under test according to anillustrative embodiment of the present invention. The pump analysis view558 consolidates a great deal of real-time data and analysis on the pumpoperation, including plunger position, plunger load, pump pressures, andother data. In addition, the same information can be recalled from priorreal time test and displayed at various reproduction speeds for laterdetailed analysis. The display includes a graphical representation 660with a plot 661 of pump action showing plunger load 664 across the lowerhorizontal axis, chamber pressure 674 along the upper horizontal axis,and plunger position 665 along the vertical axis. It is possible toaccurately display the chamber pressure 674 and plunger load 664 to theproper scale because they are mathematically linearly and inverselyrelated in the case where plunger chamber pressure is derived fromplunger load and the known metrics of the pump in operation. The displayalso presents an animated graphic of the pump 662. The pump animation662 displays the movement of the plunger 661 with traveling valve andthe pump inlet 659 with stationary valve. Note that there is a lengthscale 666 for the pump graphic 662, with the stationary valve (“standingvalve”) position set to the zero reference on the scale. Thus, theposition of the plunger can be compared to the stationary valve restingas it moves up and down in the animation. Also note that stretch of thetubing will be apparent in the animation because the scale 666 remainsstationary as the position of the stationary valve 659 moves up and downwith tubing stretch. The plunger position scale 665 of the graphicalplot 660 is set to zero at the lowest position in the plunger travel.The difference in the zero position of the standing valve scale 666 andthe plunger position scale 665 is highlighted in the drawing by arrow667. This distance 667 represents the clearance, at rest, between theplunger 661 and the stationary valve 659 when the pump is at the bottomof the stroke. During real-time animation of the plunger movement andthe tubing stretch, clearance and pump cyclical operation becomeremarkably clear in the display format.

The plot 660 in FIG. 18 also illustrates the standing valve andtravelling valve open and close points along the real time trace 661,and the cyclical movement of the instant position cursor 675 is orientedwith the UPSTROKE and DOWNSTROKE arrows added to the drawing figure.Note that the cursor 675 is also referenced along the chamber pressurescale 674, and thus highlights the changing chamber pressure as the pumpoperates. The user may optionally enable the display of otheroperational information on the pump analysis view 558, some of which areillustrated in FIG. 18. For example, a discharge pressure reference line672 can be displayed along with numerical representation on the plot 660and adjacent to the pump graphic 662. Another pressure data point is thepump inlet pressure (“PIP”), which can be numerically presented 668adjacent to the pump inlet 659, and also as a vertical line plot 680 onthe graph 660. Other pressure data can also be presented, for examplethe chamber force up pressure is numerically displayed 678. Forcereference data can also be presented. The force up 681 is displayed bothnumerically and as vertical line on the graph 660. So too is the forcemaximum line 681. Additionally, other factors discussed elsewhere hereinwith respect to he pump card can be presented. The tubing stretch factorline “Kt”, for example.

The animated pump graphic 662 also illustrates proportionally sized oiland gas bubbles. The animated graphic 662 also combines the pump inletpressure 668, the pump chamber pressure 670, and the pump dischargepressure 672. With this presentation, the user can see the entire pumpoperation in a quick glance, and monitor the pump plunger movement inreal time, while monitoring the changing pressure and changing forces asthey occur, and obtain a dynamic sense of the movement in real-time.This makes it readily apparent as to how the pump is operating and itbecomes very noticeable when there are indications of problems in thepump dynamics. With respect to pump operation, pressure inside the pumpchamber is partially controlled by plunger position and compressibilityof the gas-liquid mixture. Compressibility increases as the input gas toliquid ratio increases and as gas evolves from the liquid. Comparison ofthe chamber pressure with the pump intake and discharge pressuresdetermines the position of the plunger when the traveling and stationaryvalve change status from closed to open and vice versa. This action isplainly visible while monitoring the cyclical operation of the plot 661and the animated graphic 662 in the pump analysis view 558 of FIG. 18.Furthermore, the pump forces and pressure are derived, in part, from thesurface polished rod test data. In the illustrious embodiment,simultaneous with the acquisition of load and acceleration at thesurface, recording the variation of tubing head pressure as a functionof time or of position of the polished rod also occurs. And, the tubinghead pressure information is utilized to generate a more accuratecalculation of plunger load and position.

Reference is directed to FIG. 19, which is a time-sequenced presentationof real-time pump animation for a well under test according to anillustrative embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 19 presents acombined surface card and pump card plot 702 and a sequence of pumpanimations 700 that are labeled with letters “A” through “L”. The pumpssequences illustrate the progression of the pump animation over time,which corresponds to the cursor 704 on the surface plot 706 and the pumpplot 708 in the cards view 702. During acquisition of a real-time loadand position points, represented by the cursor points 704, the cursorsare moving in real time on both cards. At the same time, the systemgenerates the animated pump graphic 700 and presents the movement of theplunger corresponding to the pump card position data, and the movementof the bridle according to the surface card position data. It alsoanimates the movement of the stationary valve, “SV” and the travellingvalve “TV”, and the movement of well fluids, with oil presented as blackbubbles and gas presented as while bubbles, both of which circulatewithin the water portion of the well fluids. The animation sequence willnow be discussed.

Sequence ‘A’ show the plunger at the bottom of its stroke with the SVclosed and the TV closed. The plunger is drawn upward in sequences ‘B’and ‘C’, however, the chamber pressure has not yet dropped low enough toopen the SV. Although the fluids above the plunger are being liftedupward and there is substantial loading on the plunger. At sequence ‘D’,the chamber pressure has dropped low enough that the pump inlet pressureforces the SV to open, and well fluids can begin flowing into thechamber. During sequences ‘E’ and ‘F’, the plunger continues upward andthe well fluids continue to enter the chamber, generally includingbubbles of oil and gas, and the chamber pressure remains close to thepump intake pressure. The pump discharge pressure and the forces on therod are high during these sequences. At sequence ‘G’, the plunger hasjust passed the upward limit of its travel and begins to move downward,and the SV will close when the chamber pressure becomes equal to orgreater than the pump intake pressure. The pump chamber is now full of afresh charge of well fluids, and the chamber pressure is still fairlylow so the bubbles of gas are near their largest volume. In sequences‘H’ and ‘I’, the plunger moves downward and the pressure in the chamberincreases, however the TV remains closed because the chamber pressure isstill less than the discharge pressure. The gas bubble compress, and thesystem reduces their diameter proportionally. At sequence T, the gas hasbecome fully compressed and the chamber pressure exceeds the dischargepressure so the TV opens and the chamber fluids begin flowing out thepump discharge. During sequences ‘K’ and the chamber fluids continue toflow out the discharge until the plunger reaches the bottom of itsstroke, at which time the TV closes and the sequence repeats back tosequence ‘A’. The foregoing description applies to a normally operatingwell with properly operating valves.

Because of the wealth of information in the illustrative embodiment, andthe unique manner in which is it presented in the combined cards viewand pump animation sequences, the operator can see in real time what ishappening inside the pump, how much fluid is being displaced, how valvesare functioning and the dynamics of the rods that cause oscillation anddelays of the plunger motion. Immediate indication of pump displacementand rod loading answers the main questions regarding pumped fluid andequipment loading. The operator can view detailed quantitative analysiswhen needed and has powerful software tools for refining the analysis ifdesired. Furthermore, using the computed pump chamber pressure versusplunger position to calculate the relative volumes of gas and liquidpresent in the pump chamber using the PVT properties of the fluids basedon composition of the fluids and other physical properties to estimatethe material throughput at the pump provides a complete picture as tothe down-hole pump operation.

Reference is directed to FIG. 20, which is a computer display screen offor well database selection according to an illustrative embodiment ofthe present invention. The illustrative embodiment system provides alarge database for storing plural well profiles for structural andproduction information. User can select from preconfigured profiles,input their own profiles, or import profiles from other softwareapplications. FIG. 20 is a partial screen capture 720 of the “Pick Well”interface in the illustrative embodiment. The system provides a “PickWell” selector 722, which brings up a pop-out menu 725 offering the userseveral choices for proceeding. As a preliminary note, the host screen720 presents a schematic 724 of the presently selected well, whichprovides the user with a quick visual of what the well configurationentails. The pop-out window 726 enables the user plural choicesincluding creating a new well profile 732 and selecting 728 an existingprofile from the drop-down menu 730 linked to the database of wellprofiles. Once a well is selected, it may be updated and saved, copied,exported and so forth by the user. Once a well is selected, the user ispresented with specific database fields for review or editing.

Reference is directed to FIG. 21, which is a computer display screen 740for well structural information entry and editing according to anillustrative embodiment of the present invention. The well configurationpop-out menu 742 of FIG. 20 is enable in the Pick Well pop-out discussedin FIG. 20. FIG. 21 presents a portion of the structural information forthe presently selected well. If the well is pre-configured in thedatabase, the user has an option to amend the data fields. If it is anew well, the user can enter the requisite information. The pop-out 742presents a schematic 744 for the well, which provides a quick view ofthe well's general configuration. Plural data entry boxes are providedfor data presentation and update. Among these are a casingspecification, including casing diameter, casing weight per foot, andcasing depth information. There is separately provides a casingperforation data entry box 756, which includes the top and bottom depthsof the perforated length of the casing. There is a tubing string databox 752, which includes tubing diameter, weight per foot, depth ranges,and joint distance. A rod string data box is provided that displays thenumber of rod diameter tapers, and which enable further access to morespecific details of the rod structure. A pump data box 758 includes pumpdiameter, depth, length, and pump hold-down information. A tubing anchorbox 754 includes the depth of any tubing string hold-downs in the wellstructure. And, a stroke length box 760 includes the length of thesurface unit cyclical stroke. Finally, there are a set of buttons 746for saving, deleting and changing the present database record.

Reference is directed to FIG. 22, which is a computer display screen 780for well production information according to an illustrative embodimentof the present invention. This well screen provides productioninformation about a presently selected well. It is accessed from thePick Well screen discussed regarding FIG. 20. In FIG. 22, the wellproduction data 792 is presented. This includes the production of water,oil and gas, which naturally establishes the ratios between each. Thisinformation can be recalled from prior production, or the data can beentered by the user based on otherwise available information. A fluidproperties section 784 includes oil gravity (in degrees API), waterspecific gravity, gas gravity, and percentages of certain traceelements. The well temperatures are includes a another box 786. Surfacepressures are presented in another box 788 for both the casing and thetubing string. This is useful information in the case a pressuretransducer is not utilized in a current test, because it becomes thesource of temperature information in the calculations. A tubing fluidgradient box 790 includes a factor for pressure increase per foot offilled tubing, which is used to calculate the pump discharge pressure inthe calculations. The tubing gradient can either be a preset value, orit can be deduced from the fluid production properties.

Reference is directed to FIG. 23, which is a computer display screen 800of the cards view also illustrating prior test data selection accordingto an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. As was brieflydiscussed hereinbefore, the illustrative embodiment system savesreal-time test data in a database on a stroke-by-stroke basis, and thisinformation can be recalled and displayed by the user. This isbeneficial because comparing current real-time performance with pasttests is instructive on trends in the well performance and can oftentimes predict upcoming potential for failure that might be preemptivelycorrected. Thus, in FIG. 23, the cards view screen 800 provides anoption to select 802 prior production data tests sets on astroke-by-stroke basis. When the filmstrip-style button 802 is selected,a pop-out menu 804 is presented that shows a string of miniaturizedcards views for the user to select from. Note that these miniaturizedcards views are not random, rather, they are depictions from the actualdata in the database. This is beneficial because it assists the user inselecting a particular stroke record from the plural records. Inaddition, where the database record includes one or more strokes of datathat represent a valve test, then this “film strip” of cards views willdisplay an indication that there was a valve test.

Reference is directed to FIG. 24, which is a computer screen display 810for animated playback of prior test data according to an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention. As was discussed regarding FIG. 23,the system of the illustrative embodiment saves real-time data test setsin a database indexed by well, and enables that data to be recalled forutilization by a user. In FIG. 24, the user has the ability to select a“Replay” button 812. This action causes a replay pop-out box 814 toappear. This box contains familiar icons for rewind, play stop, pauseand so forth. Bt selecting these buttons, the user can direct the systemto replay the stored well test data for review and comparison withcurrent real-time testing. The test data can be replayed at real-timespeeds or at faster or slower speeds to assist in the analysis process.The system the presents the previously discussed cards view, includingthe pump animation features and replays them in the same manner of livetest data. This includes all of the features previously discussed. Inaddition, the replayed data set can be recorded as a standardized mediafile, such as a Windows .mov file, which can be exported from the systemand communicated to remote locations. This is particularly beneficialbecause the information can now be presented on a personal computer thatdoesn't run the specialized software of the illustrative embodiment.

Reference is directed to FIG. 25, which is a computer display screen 820showing an acoustic liquid level meter test according to an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention. As was discussed earlier, theacoustic liquid level meter functions by releasing a burst of compressedgas as a shock wave into the well casing. A sensitive microphone listensto the return echo signal, which is comprised of noise, return echoesfrom the collar joints on the tubing string, and a larger return echofrom the surface of the liquid in the well casing, which is the primaryitem of data utilized in the systems of the illustrative embodiment. Theacoustic echo signal is processed in manners disclosed in the prior art,and in additional manners taught by the present invention. It should benoted that the acoustic liquid level meter test can be conducted duringoperation of the dynamometer test without interruption. This isadvantageous for the operator because lest time is required to conduct afull well test. The display screen 820 of FIG. 24 illustrates the datapresented to the user following an acoustic liquid level meter test. Aplot 822 of echo signal 826 versus time is written to the display. Theinstant in time of the acoustic liquid level meter shot 824 is markedwith a vertical line. The signal with noise is plotted, and some of theecho data is visually perceptible, such as the earlier collarreflections, and in particular, the return echo from the liquid surface828 is obvious, and is marked with a vertical line. This data isprocessed to provides specific numerical information to the user.

The numerical data presented on the display 820 in the acoustic liquidlevel meter test includes the distance to liquid 830, which is 3064 feetin this example. The total time for the return echo 832 is presented,which is 8.692 seconds. The number of collar joints is calculated, anddisplay 834, and is 96.6 collars in this example. The average acousticvelocity is calculated 836, and is 705 meters per second here. The rateof joint return echoes is calculated 842, and is 11.11 joints per secondhere. Actually, the velocity and rate of returns change gradually as thepressure and density of the column of gas in the well built-up underforce of gravity. This pressure build-up is plotted 844 on the display.Other functions and features of the acoustic liquid level meter testwill also be discussed.

Reference is directed to FIG. 26, which is a computer display screen 850showing an acoustic liquid level meter test with superimposed wellcasing graphic according to an illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention. The acoustic liquid level meter plot 852 presents the echosignal 854 versus time. In the illustrative embodiment, the user mayselect to have the program superimpose a graphic of the well boreprofile 856 as a view aid. This is also instructive in orienting thesurface of the well, the liquid level and other physical wellattributes.

Reference is directed to FIG. 27, which is a computer display screen 860showing an acoustic liquid level meter test with mirrored echo tracepresentation according to an illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention. It is not unusual for the noise component in a acousticliquid level meter return echo plot to confuse the essential data,particularly when it is viewed on a computer display screen. In FIG. 26,the echo return plot 862 includes a plot of the return echo 864. Theuser is able to select a plot of an inverted echo signal 866. This is agood aid in identifying the liquid level line 868 because of the natureof the signal. The liquid level will align clearly and distinguish itfrom other noise, which occurs randomly in the return echo.

Thus, the present invention has been described herein with reference toa particular embodiment for a particular application. Those havingordinary skill in the art and access to the present teachings willrecognize additional modifications, applications and embodiments withinthe scope thereof.

It is therefore intended by the appended claims to cover any and allsuch applications, modifications and embodiments within the scope of thepresent invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of real-time utilization of performancedata by a processor, which is associated with a pump lifting well fluidsabove a liquid level in a casing of a subterranean well through a tubeto a surface level, the pump having a chamber with a fluid inlet that isgated by a stationary valve, and having a plunger slidably engaged withthe chamber, the plunger having a fluid outlet gated by a travelingvalve that is coupled to deliver well fluids to the tube, the plungerreciprocated to vary the displacement of the chamber by a rod extendingupward to a cyclical drive unit at the surface, the method comprisingthe steps of: positioning a transducer unit proximate the rod at thesurface level for gathering acceleration and strain data of the rod;calculating, in real time, a sequence of rod position data samples androd load data samples as a function of said acceleration and straindata; calculating, in real time, a sequence of plunger position datapoints and plunger load data points using wave equation modeling, whichcorresponds to cyclical operation of the rod at the plunger level;calculating, by the processor, an inlet pressure at the fluid inlet tothe pump as a function of the pump depth and density of well fluids inthe casing; calculating, by the processor, a discharge pressure at thefluid outlet from the pump as a function of the pump depth and densityof well fluid in the tube; calculating, in real-time, a sequence of pumpchamber pressure data points as a function of said sequence of plungerload data points; calculating, in real-time, stationary valve actuationevents by comparing an inlet differential pressure between said pumpinlet pressure and said camber pressure; calculating, in real-time,traveling valve actuation events by comparing an outlet differentialpressure between said pump outlet pressure and said camber pressure, anddelivering, in real-time, said stationary valve actuation events andsaid traveling valve actuation events to a valve actuation data output.2. The method of claim 1, and wherein: said stationary valve actuationevents include stationary valve opening events and stationary valveclosing events, and said traveling valve actuation events includetraveling valve opening events and traveling valve closing events. 3.The method of claim 1, and wherein the step of positioning a transducerunit proximate the rod at the surface level comprises clamping atransducer unit to the rod at the surface level to gather accelerationand strain data of the rod.
 4. A method of real-time utilization ofperformance data by a processor, which is associated with a pump liftingwell fluids above a liquid level in a casing of a subterranean wellthrough a tube to a surface level, the pump having a chamber with afluid inlet that is gated by a stationary valve, and having a plungerslidably engaged with the chamber, the plunger having a fluid outletgated by a traveling valve that is coupled to deliver well fluids to thetube, the plunger reciprocated to vary the displacement of the chamberby a rod extending upward to a cyclical drive unit at the surface, themethod comprising the steps of: positioning a transducer unit proximateto the rod at the surface level for gathering acceleration and straindata of the rod; calculating, in real time, a sequence of rod positiondata samples and rod load data samples as a function of saidacceleration and strain data; calculating, in real time, a sequence ofplunger position data points and plunger load data points using waveequation modeling, which corresponds to cyclical operation of the rod atthe plunger level; calculating, in real-time, stationary valve actuationevents as a function of said plunger load data points; calculating, inreal-time, traveling valve actuation events as a function of saidplunger load data points, and delivering, in real-time, said stationaryvalve actuation events and said traveling valve actuation events to avalve actuation data output.
 5. The method of claim 4, furthercomprising the steps of: conducting said calculating stationary valveactuation events and said calculating traveling valve actuation eventsin a manner so as to distinguish when a valve test is performed withoutinterrupting said obtaining a sequence of rod position data samples androd load data samples, and said calculating a sequence of plungerposition data points and plunger load data points processes.
 6. Themethod of claim 4 wherein the step of positioning a transducer unitproximate the rod at the surface level comprises clamping a transducerunit to the rod at the surface level to gather acceleration and straindata of the rod.
 7. The method of claim 4, further comprising the stepsof: displaying, in real-time, a graphical representation of saidsequence of rod position data samples and said sequence of rod load datasamples on a graphical format surface card, and displaying indicators,in real-time, of said a stationary valve actuation events and saidtraveling valve actuation events on said graphical format surface card.8. The method of claim 4, further comprising the steps of: displaying,in real-time, a graphical representation of said sequence of plungerposition data points and said sequence of plunger load data points on agraphical format pump card, and displaying indicators, in real-time, ofsaid a stationary valve actuation events and said traveling valveactuation events on said graphical format pump card.
 9. The method ofclaim 4, further comprising the steps of: generating a graphicalrepresentation of the pump including the chamber and the plunger;animating the movement of said plunger according to said plungerposition data points; generating a graphical representation of thestationary valve and the traveling valve on said graphicalrepresentation of the pump, and animating movement of the stationaryvalve and the traveling valve according to said a stationary valveactuation events and said traveling valve actuation events.
 10. Themethod of claim 4, and wherein the well fluids have known physicalproperties, including gas and liquid portions, the method furthercomprising the steps of: calculating, in real-time, a sequence of pumpchamber pressure data points according to said sequence of plunger loaddata points; determining a ratio of a gas portion to a liquid portion inthe well fluids; calculating, in real-time, volumetric compression datapoints of said gas portion within the pump chamber, and delivering, inreal-time, said volumetric compression data points to a compressionratio data output.
 11. The method of claim 10, and wherein: said gasportion comprises hydrocarbon gas compounds, and said liquid portioncomprises a hydrocarbon liquid compounds portion and a water portion.12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of: calculatingan effective plunger stroke factor by scaling said sequence of plungerposition points with said volumetric compression data points, therebyresulting in the effective fluid displacement of the pump chamber. 13.The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of: displaying saideffective plunger stroke factor in a graphical format.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, further comprising the steps of: calculating the pump liquidthroughput in accordance with said effective plunger stroke factor,including proportions in accordance with said hydrocarbon liquidcompounds portion and said water portion, and calculating the pump gasthroughput in accordance with said volumetric compression data points ofsaid gas portion.
 15. The method of claim 12, further comprising thesteps of: generating a graphical representation of the pump includingthe chamber and the plunger; animating the movement of the plungeraccording to said plunger position data; graphically representing saidgas portion as a proportionally sized gas area and graphicallyrepresenting said hydrocarbon liquid compounds portion as aproportionally sized oil area within the camber of the pump, andanimating the movement of said gas portion and said hydrocarbon liquidcompounds portion within the pump.
 16. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising the steps of: varying the size of said proportionally sizedgas area in accordance with said volumetric compression data points,thereby animating the compression of the said gas portion during cyclicoperation of the pump.
 17. A system of real-time utilization ofperformance data by a processor, which is associated with a pump liftingwell fluids above a liquid level in a casing of a subterranean wellthrough a tube to a surface level, the pump having a chamber with afluid inlet that is gated by a stationary valve, and having a plungerslidably engaged with the chamber, the plunger having a fluid outletgated by a traveling valve that is coupled to deliver well fluids to thetube, the plunger reciprocated to vary the displacement of the chamberby a rod extending upward to a cyclical drive unit at the surface,comprising: a processor; a sensor assembly positioned proximate to therod at the surface level, to obtain, and forward to said processor inreal time, acceleration and strain data of the rod, and wherein saidprocessor is programmed to calculate a sequence of rod position datasamples and rod load data samples as a function of said acceleration andstrain data, and wherein said processor is programmed to calculate, inreal time, a sequence of plunger position data points and plunger loaddata points using wave equation modeling, and as a function of saidsequence of rod position data samples and said rod load data samples;and wherein said processor is programmed to calculate, in real-time,stationary valve actuation events as a function of said plunger loaddata points; and wherein, said processor is programmed to calculate, inreal-time, traveling valve actuation events as a function of saidplunger load data points, and and wherein, said processor delivers, inreal-time, said stationary valve actuation events and said travelingvalve actuation events to a valve actuation data output.
 18. The systemof claim 17, and wherein: said processor calculates said stationaryvalve actuation events and calculates said traveling valve actuationevents in a manner so as to distinguish when a valve test is performedwithout interrupting said sensor assembly gathering said sequence of rodposition data samples and said rod load data samples.
 19. The system ofclaim 17 wherein said sensor assembly includes a polished rod transducerclamped to the rod for collecting said acceleration data.
 20. The systemof claim 17, further comprising: a display, and wherein said processordisplays on said display, in real-time, said sequence of rod positiondata samples and said sequence of rod load data samples as a graphicalformat surface card, and wherein said processor displays on saiddisplay, in real-time, said stationary valve actuation events and saidtraveling valve actuation events on said graphical format surface card.21. The system of claim 17, further comprising: a display, and whereinsaid processor displays on said display, in real-time, said sequence ofplunger position data points and said sequence of plunger load datapoints on a graphical format pump card, and wherein said processordisplays indicators of said a stationary valve actuation events and saidtraveling valve actuation events on said graphical format pump card. 22.The system of claim 17, further comprising: a display, and wherein saidprocessor generates a graphical representation of the pump including thechamber and the plunger on said display, and wherein said processoranimates the movement of said plunger on said display according to saidplunger position data points, and wherein said processor generates agraphical representation of the stationary valve and the traveling valveon said graphical representation of the pump, and wherein said processoranimates movement of the stationary valve and the traveling valve onsaid display according to said a stationary valve actuation events andsaid traveling valve actuation events.
 23. The system of claim 17, andwherein the well fluids have known physical properties, including a gasportion and a liquid portion, and wherein: said processor calculates, inreal-time, a sequence of pump chamber pressure data points according tosaid sequence of plunger load data points, and wherein said processordetermines a ratio of a gas portion to a liquid portion in the wellfluids, and wherein said processor calculates, in real-time, volumetriccompression data points of said gas portion within the pump chamber, andwherein said processor delivers, in real-time, said volumetriccompression data points to a compression ratio data output.
 24. Thesystem of claim 23, and wherein: said gas portion comprises hydrocarbongas compounds, and said liquid portion comprises a hydrocarbon liquidcompounds portion and a water portion.
 25. The system of claim 24, andwherein: said processor calculates an effective plunger stroke factor byscaling said sequence of plunger position points with said volumetriccompression data points, thereby resulting in the effective fluiddisplacement of the pump chamber.
 26. The system of claim 25, furthercomprising: a display, and wherein said processor displays saideffective plunger stroke factor in a graphical format on said display.27. The system of claim 26, and wherein: said processor calculates thepump liquid throughput in accordance with said effective plunger strokefactor, including proportions in accordance with said hydrocarbon liquidcompounds portion and said water portion, and wherein said processorcalculates the pump gas throughput in accordance with said volumetriccompression data points of said gas portion.
 28. The system of claim 25,further comprising: a display, and wherein said processor generates agraphical representation of the pump on said display, including thechamber and the plunger, and wherein said processor animates themovement of the plunger on said display according to said plungerposition data, and wherein said processor graphically represents saidgas portion as a proportionally sized gas area on said display, and saidprocessor graphically represents said hydrocarbon liquid compoundsportion as a proportionally sized oil area within the camber of the pumpon said display, and wherein said processor animates the movement ofsaid gas portion and said hydrocarbon liquid compounds portion withinthe pump on said display.
 29. The system of claim 28, and wherein: saidprocessor varies the size of said proportionally sized gas area inaccordance with said volumetric compression data points on said display,thereby animating the compression of the said gas portion during cyclicoperation of the pump.